Third hand smoke?

[torinsmom]

Anyone else heard the reports on this? I had never heard of it, but now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/03/health/research/03smoke.html

Thoughts?

Marsha

 

[mrsdon]

I have to agree
I can smell smoke anywhere
YUCK

 

[torinsmom]

Yeah, I knew you could smell it, and that's why it seems like more people would have questioned the chemicals left behind. I once got a chair from someone who smoked and tried everything under the sun to get the smell out. Finally had to find a smoker to give it to.......

Marsha

 

[goofyernmost]

Oh, give me a break! Third hand smoke? Must have been a slow day on the scientific front. I really can't comment on this because it is too incredibly ridicules to even think about. I guess it's OK to make the statement but in the end is it any more problematic then breathing air that has automobile exhaust saturated in it. It seems like a pretty minor problem not even worth of the ink or cyberstuff it was printed with.

 

[mrsstats]

I agree with this. When you can smell it, you must be breathing in these fumes or whatever. Even going outside to smoke wont help, it clings to your clothes

 

[torinsmom]

Well, you usually don't stick your baby's nose and mouth right up against the exhaust of a car, you know? I am thinking of these people who smoke and then have their kids' faces up against the clothing that has absorbed all the chemicals, or lying on the carpet, etc.

Marsha

 

[Chuck S]

Are there residual chemicals...of course. But, are the minute concentrations of those chemicals an actual health hazard...that is certainly questionable. Some (I would bet most) of the chemicals they list as being in this "third hand smoke" are in our environment and foods anyway...if the concentrations are tiny, the increased risk is negligible.

For instance there is cyanide in almonds, and carbon monoxide in car exhaust. Either can kill you if your exposure is great enough...but so far, they haven't banned almonds or cars.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

I passed on this info to my DBF back in May.... this is what got him to quit smoking.. I firmly believe it though....the smell is awful, and when our DD was born, she could be fine, but the minute he'd pick her up (no matter the length of time lapse) after he'd smoked outside, she'd start sneezing next to him. I begged him to stop, he noticed her reaction...and ever since he quit, she's stopped sneezing

 

[bumbershoot]

Yes, I heard about it around 10 years ago.

Friend of mine worked at Intel making chips; they were not allowed to smoke at work, had to come in, shower, etc, put on the suit and haircap thing. They were told that the 3rd hand smoke could get into the chip-making process and could potentially ruin it.

We have had a car for 2 years now; it was a dealership rental, and I wasn't involved in buying it. It stinks of smoke. I know that I'm more sickly b/c of that stupid car...on a hot day it's unbearable...on a cold but wet day (and I live in the pac NW so that's common) it's awful, no better than sitting next to a smoker on rainy day where the fumes just emanate off of them. When it's hot and I'm driving, I can smell old smoke on my hands from the steering wheel.

It's disgusting, and if we weren't so upside-down on the loan I'd sell it (but we can't finance anything right now so it's impossible, even though it's making me ill). As it is, we're throwing everything towards the principle, when we get it paid we'll find a smoker who doesn't mind it, and buy something else.

I also have parents who smoked in varying degrees; my stepmom pretends she doesn't, but she obviously has no sense of smell anymore if she thinks that we believe her. I feel bad for the NICU babies she treats (she's a nurse) b/c of how the cigarette smell comes off of her skin.

I've experienced it all my life, but hearing that from the intel chip maker made me smile, as it validated my experiences.

 

[S. C.]

Oh, give me a break! Third hand smoke? Must have been a slow day on the scientific front. I really can't comment on this because it is too incredibly ridicules to even think about. I guess it's OK to make the statement but in the end is it any more problematic then breathing air that has automobile exhaust saturated in it. It seems like a pretty minor problem not even worth of the ink or cyberstuff it was printed with.

But you commented on it! Even though it is not worth cyberstuff.

I'm just in a silly mood.

 

[S. C.]

I have to agree
I can smell smoke anywhere
YUCK

Me too!

 

[taximomfor4]

3 yrs ago, during my pediatrics clinicals, anyone who was working the one unit with mostly pulmonary problems had a special rule. This was the unit where kids were, if they had cystic fibrosis, pneumonia that required hospitalization, or asthma that was no longer controlled by their meds. The special rule, for any of us nursing students who smoked, was NO SMOKING ON OUR WAY TO CLINICALS. I guess the residual on people's clothing, hair, or skin could set these kids back. This rule was based on what had happened in the past, not on this "new" idea of Third Hand Smoke.

BTW, I do believe in it. I don't tend to have true asthma attacks, but SOMETIMES I check into a non-smoking room in a hotel, that was formerly a smoking room. It's not just the smell, I definitely have gone into an asthma attack.

 

[teacherforhi]

Several years ago, I had a student who reeked so bad of cigarette smoke that being near her made me gag and my sinuses would immediately just start to close up. She lived in a house where there where five adults smoking and carried the smell with her everywhere.

I felt bad, but I couldn't be in close proximity to her and we would regularly Febreeze the room when the kids were out.

 

[C.Ann]

Are there residual chemicals...of course. But, are the minute concentrations of those chemicals an actual health hazard...that is certainly questionable. Some (I would bet most) of the chemicals they list as being in this "third hand smoke" are in our environment and foods anyway...if the concentrations are tiny, the increased risk is negligible.

For instance there is cyanide in almonds, and carbon monoxide in car exhaust. Either can kill you if your exposure is great enough...but so far, they haven't banned almonds or cars.

I think people also tend to forget about the horribly harmful chemicals that are in the carpeting they purchase; the furniture they purchase; the mattresses on their childrens beds; the cleaning agents they use; the hair products they use; the things that are not aware of that is in their food and water; etc..

Interesting article, but there was no data included to show that any children had actually suffered harmful effects from this "third hand" smoke, so until there is, I don't see anything to get terribly alarmed about..

 

[raysnkaysmom]

I think people also tend to forget about the horribly harmful chemicals that are in the carpeting they purchase; the furniture they purchase; the mattresses on their childrens beds; the cleaning agents they use; the hair products they use; the things that are not aware of that is in their food and water; etc..

Interesting article, but there was no data included to show that any children had actually suffered harmful effects from this "third hand" smoke, so until there is, I don't see anything to get terribly alarmed about..

Hate to disagree with a friend on here...lol...BUT, IMO I think to 'wait' til there is harmful effects on children is a bit late. If the data points to that direction..and simple things like allergies and asthma are affected, why is that not enough to try to quit...at least for the kids?? Of course we can't control everything...but why not control what we can??

 

[GeorgeG]

If you can smell it, it can't be good.

Last year my wife went up to New York and stayed with her sister, a smoker. Even though she rarely smokes in the house, the stink comes in on her and her clothes. When my wife got back she had to wash even the clothes she didn't wear because they absorbed the smoke smell even though they were nowhere near the smoking.

When the same sister (and any other smoker) comes here to visit, all smoking takes place outside, yet the smell comes in with her and clings to any fabric she gets within ten feet of. We have to clean and Fabreeze everything after she leaves. If you can smell it, whatever bad things it carries get not only in your nose, but your lungs.

I'm sure smokers don't realize they stink because it's with them constantly. Fortunately, we're inching closer to becoming a smoke-free world.

 

[Chuck S]

Hate to disagree with a friend on here...lol...BUT, IMO I think to 'wait' til there is harmful effects on children is a bit late. If the data points to that direction..and simple things like allergies and asthma are affected, why is that not enough to try to quit...at least for the kids?? Of course we can't control everything...but why not control what we can??

If you can smell it, it can't be good.

Last year my wife went up to New York and stayed with her sister, a smoker. Even though she rarely smokes in the house, the stink comes in on her and her clothes. When my wife got back she had to wash even the clothes she didn't wear because they absorbed the smoke smell even though they were nowhere near the smoking.

When the same sister (and any other smoker) comes here to visit, all smoking takes place outside, yet the smell comes in with her and clings to any fabric she gets within ten feet of. We have to clean and Fabreeze everything after she leaves. If you can smell it, whatever bad things it carries get not only in your nose, but your lungs.

I'm sure smokers don't realize they stink because it's with them constantly. Fortunately, we're inching closer to becoming a smoke-free world.

I don't think anyone is saying that not smoking isn't the best option. They just aren't agreeing that some exposure to the low amounts of residual chemicals is necessarily harmful (or more harmful) to long term health than what is already in our daily environment and food chain. Nor is anyone saying that the smell doesn't linger on clothing, skin, hair and any other porous material or furnishing, just that while the smell is unpleasant, so is the smell of a lot of things in our environment that aren't banned. But people react differently if it is cigarette smoke.

I haven't smoked in many years, and I hate the smell, but at the same time, I don't think getting an occasional whiff of smoke in passing someone on the sidewalk, or being exposed to the residual (and very unpleasent) odors and chemicals is doing significant damage to my health. The exceptions, of course, would be those folks that truly have allergies to smoke or specific health problems where the smell of smoke triggers a reaction. I kind of compare it to the lingering scent of a skunk. It smells bad, and contains residual chemicals...but the amount of exposure is low enough that unless you are directly sprayed, there are not necessarily negative affects to your health

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I don't think anyone is saying that not smoking isn't the best option. They just aren't agreeing that some exposure to the low amounts residual chemicals is necessarily harmful (or more harmful) to long term health than what is already in our daily environment and food chain. Nor is anyone saying that the smell doesn't linger on clothing, skin, hair and any other porous material or furnishing, just that while the smell is unpleasant, so is the smell of a lot of things in our environment that aren't banned. But people react differently if it is cigarette smoke.

But here is the thing. If you live with a smoker and that person only smokes outside but them comes in and sits on the furniture etc. then you are not ingesting low amounts. Over time it becomes more concentrated. It is not like a one time houseguest. Those chemicals linger on their skin and clothing. That rubs off on everything in that home that they touch.

 

[Mysteria]

I don't think anyone is saying that not smoking isn't the best option. They just aren't agreeing that some exposure to the low amounts of residual chemicals is necessarily harmful (or more harmful) to long term health than what is already in our daily environment and food chain. Nor is anyone saying that the smell doesn't linger on clothing, skin, hair and any other porous material or furnishing, just that while the smell is unpleasant, so is the smell of a lot of things in our environment that aren't banned. But people react differently if it is cigarette smoke.

I haven't smoked in many years, and I hate the smell, but at the same time, I don't think getting an occasional whiff of smoke in passing someone on the sidewalk, or being exposed to the residual (and very unpleasent) odors and chemicals is doing significant damage to my health. The exceptions, of course, would be those folks that truly have allergies to smoke or specific health problems where the smell of smoke triggers a reaction. I kind of compare it to the lingering scent of a skunk. It smells bad, and contains residual chemicals...but the amount of exposure is low enough that unless you are directly sprayed, there are not necessarily negative affects to your health

Since this is what i would have said I'll just ditto!!

 

[Chuck S]

But here is the thing. If you live with a smoker and that person only smokes outside but them comes in and sits on the furniture etc. then you are not ingesting low amounts. Over time it becomes more concentrated. It is not like a one time houseguest. Those chemicals linger on their skin and clothing. That rubs off on everything in that home that they touch.

Some of the chemicals become more concentrated, some naturally dissipate into the atmoshpere, and some will actually be absorbed into a non-smokers body through breathing and skin contact...but again, that doesn't necessarily indicate a health hazard in these trace amounts. Many (most) of the trace amounts of chemicals we come into contact with are continually and harmlessly flushed through our kidneys and liver filter system. As long as the concentrations remain below our body's natural ability to cleanse itself, the impact on our health should be minimal.